Miri brought one of Irene’s coffee cakes to Mrs. Stein once the Steins returned to their regular routines—Phil at school, Mr. Stein at his office, Mrs. Stein reading in her favorite chair. “I’m so sorry for your loss,” Miri said.
“I still can’t believe it.” Mrs. Stein teared up. “My niece was a wonderful girl. And such promise. Even though we buried her and sat shiva, none of it feels real.”
When Fred barked Mrs. Stein scooped him up and her mood lightened. “I’m so happy to see you, Miri, and Fred, too. Look at this cake!” she said, taking it from Miri. “It looks good enough to eat. What do you say?”
Miri nodded.
“And how about a cold glass of milk to go with it?”
Miri nodded again.
Elizabeth Daily Post
Editorial
BARKING AT THE MOON
JAN. 25—Elizabeth’s second air disaster is now three days old. Our commercial airline death record has taken first place in the whole world. Show us, if you can, an official act or an official decision made that offers assurance there won’t be more slaughter.
The governor, who is a lawyer himself, hides behind the opinion of another lawyer. The mayor calls for removal of Newark Airport “bag and baggage,” which he should know is barking at the moon.
The Port Authority sticks to its old reliable routine of patterns and improvements to come, while crash experts give us an answer to everything except why the airport keeps expanding.
Let the governor order expansion work at Newark Airport stopped NOW—TODAY! That would be a gesture of sincerity which would reassure an aroused and grieving people.
Public Indignation
A few days after the crash, a “Public Indignation” meeting was held at City Hall, demanding authorities shut down Newark Airport. More than a thousand people came, not only from Elizabeth, but other towns along the flight paths.
Irene didn’t want Ben Sapphire to go. “It could be too much for you, Ben.”
“My wife died on one of those planes,” Ben said. “I’m not sitting this one out.”
“Then I’m coming with you,” Irene told him.
“Take your pills just in case,” Rusty said. But Irene ignored her.
“Come, Rusty,” Ben said, “we’ll give you a ride.”
“Me, too,” Miri said. She’d made plans to meet Mason there.
“You’re not coming,” Rusty told her. “You have to be eighteen.”
“You didn’t have to be eighteen to die,” Miri argued. “Penny wasn’t even eight.”
Henry said, “I think she can come.”
Rusty shrugged. “I hate this.”
“We all do,” Henry said.
—
MASON WAS WAITING for her with Christina and Jack, in front of City Hall. Miri still hadn’t met Mason’s older brother, but just as Mason started to introduce them a bum approached Jack, and Mason pulled Miri away, hustling her up the wide steps. It was the first time Miri had set foot inside City Hall, an impressive red-brick, white-columned building. She’d imagined it would be quiet, even serene, but not tonight. The noisy crowd spilled out into the lobby, leaving standing room only at the meeting. Rusty fought her way through the crowd to Miri and told her to keep to the side with Mason, away from the entrance. “I’ll be over there,” she said, pointing to a bench where Irene and Ben were already seated. “I want to keep an eye on Nana. I’ve got her pills in my pocketbook. If it gets to be too much, go outside.”
“If it gets to be too much?” Miri said to Mason once Rusty was out of earshot. “If it gets to be too much?” As if two crashes weren’t already too much. Mason nodded but Miri wasn’t sure he’d heard a word she’d said.
The meeting started with Mayor Kirk saying something about umbrellas, but Miri couldn’t hear well enough to understand. Then a representative from the airport promised the new runway, under construction, would keep planes from taking off and landing over Elizabeth. No one believed him, and when the crowd started booing, a police escort rushed him out of the building. After that tempers escalated quickly. The crowd wanted to blame someone or something.
Eleanor slipped in next to Miri. Miri was glad she wasn’t the only one here from her class. “They don’t understand it’s sabotage, that we’re a city under siege.” Eleanor had to cup her hand and speak directly into Miri’s ear, it was so noisy.
“Are you going to tell them?”
“I haven’t decided.”
“My uncle says they were accidents, that it was a coincidence.”
“Sorry, but I don’t buy that.”
“I know it’s hard to believe but—”
“Your uncle’s a reporter, right?”
“Yes. He’s sitting up front with the other reporters.”
“They don’t want us to know the truth. If we did, it would result in chaos.”
“My uncle is an honest person.”
“I’m just saying our government doesn’t want us to know the truth.” Eleanor walked away then, maybe looking for someone else to listen to her theory.